Rare Visions: The Welsh Group

Rare Visions
The Welsh Group

10 June – 29 July 2017

Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre, Cwmbran

To mark the opening of a new exhibition of the Welsh Group, Hywel Pontin of the Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre has written a brief introduction to the exhibition and the Group more broadly.

One of the definitions of the word ‘rare’ is ‘having the component parts not closely packed together’. Such a definition aptly describes this present exhibition which shows the disparate and wide ranging work, processes and practices of this long-established artist’s group. Besides the variety of works, an extra interest here is that a number of the group’s members have shown at Llantarnam Grange since its opening in 1966 and it is as intriguing to see how the work of these artists has evolved, as it is to see how new members have brought different media, perceptions and working practice into the mix of ‘component parts’.

The Welsh Group is a long-established group of professional artists based in Wales. Their work is as diverse as is the range of media within which they practice. Members have received awards, residencies and commissions and most have exhibited widely in Wales, Europe, Canada, America, Australia and the Far East.

The Welsh Group is one Wales’ most established and respected group of artists. It was founded in 1948 as the South Wales Group which at that stage consisted of both professional and amateur artists from South Wales’ six leading art societies. However, by 1975 it had radically changed, becoming a professional-only collective renaming itself The Welsh Group: Y Grwp Cymreig. Throughout its history the group has exhibited widely both in Wales and internationally.

The Welsh Group members are not dominated by any movement, style or manifesto, but come together as professional individuals promoting and exhibiting art of high quality. The Group gives a sense of comradeship and belonging to its members and, by association, to other artists living and working throughout Wales. The Welsh Group members demonstrate a wide cross section of conceptual approaches in contemporary visual arts practice through a range of media and processes. The Group currently has about forty active members (occasionally including a Graduate Fellow) located across the whole of Wales.